Public sector building certifiers to return in ACT

The ACT Government will establish a team of public sector certifiers as part of a new developer licensing scheme announced this week.

Minister
for Building Quality Improvement Gordon Ramsay said: “We have seen too
many cases where property developers have forced other parts of the industry to
cut on costs and influence process”.

He said the new team of certifiers “will provide the opportunity for consumers to make better judgements about who they’re trusting to approve building work as well as encouraging developers to do the right thing and not cut corners”.

The
developer licensing scheme will be unique in Australia and will establish
appropriate definitions for a legislative and regulatory regime, including:

• Fit
  and proper person’ assessments
• Licence
  scope applying to the most high-risk developments in terms of quality (i.e.
  multi-unit residential); and
• Enforcement
  regimes.

“This team
of public sector certifiers will sit alongside the Government’s licencing
scheme for property developers and break the link between developers and
building certifiers,” Mr Ramsay said.

The
Government’s team of public certifiers will operate on a fee-for-service basis
and may be required for certain types of development.